Tag Archives: BIRS

NSERC corrects a mistake, but many remain unaddressed

Posted on October 6, 2018 by Ghoussoub

No, I am not talking about the sudden and probably more consequential recent change in NSERC’s leadership, but about an accounting mistake. Yes, it looks minor, but it speaks volume. As I mentioned in a previous post, I resigned last … Continue reading →

Posted in Banff International Research Station, R&D Policy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Overhauling NSERC is a long overdue national priority (I)

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Ghoussoub

With an annual budget of $1.1 billion, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is the agency through which the federal government funds advanced post-secondary research in science and engineering. Thousands of Canadian researchers rely on it, … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Canada has two ministers of Science, yet Budget 2017 barely mentions Science

Posted on April 10, 2017 by Ghoussoub

University researchers across Canada are stunned and puzzled. What happened to Justin Trudeau’s Liberals promises to undo the damage that the Harper years inflicted on the nation’s research capacity? The Liberals campaigned to end the “war on Science,” yet they … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Interview with a mathematician: Nassif Ghoussoub

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Ghoussoub

Originally posted on The Intrepid Mathematician:
Nassif Ghoussoub is the founder and current director of the Banff International Research Station, the founding director of the Pacific Institute of Mathematics, and the co-founder of MITACS NCE. On top of all that,…

Posted in Banff International Research Station, Honouring friends, R&D Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

About Naylor’s panel roundtable regarding Big Science in a Canadian Context

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Ghoussoub

For those not paying attention, David Naylor is leading “Canada’s Fundamental Science Review Panel” which is looking at the state of fundamental science in Canada. Last week, I had a chance to participate at a roundtable of experts in Calgary, … Continue reading →

Posted in Banff International Research Station, R&D Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Submission of BIRS and Canada’s Mathematical Sciences Institutes to Canada’s Fundamental Science Review

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Ghoussoub

The Mathematical Sciences are the foundation of any advanced research ecosystem, and Canada’s mathematical sciences institutes have been instrumental in supporting this ecosystem. They do so by providing scientific leadership, by developing coherent national strategies for mathematical and statistical discovery … Continue reading →

Posted in Banff International Research Station, R&D Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Humbled and Proud

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Ghoussoub

All I could think of when the phone call from the Governor General office came was the friendly face of the immigration officer who signed my residence papers more than 36 years ago. I hadn’t applied for a refugee’s visa, … Continue reading →

Posted in Banff International Research Station, Honouring friends | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

An activist you are!

Posted on May 26, 2015 by Ghoussoub

The letter from the president of The University of Victoria informing me about my honorary doctorate was a complete surprise. “My former graduate students and postdocs, who are now on the faculty at UVic, must have been behind this nomination,” I … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Four lessons from an amazing site visit

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Ghoussoub

A joint site visit to the Banff International Research Station (BIRS) by four granting agencies representing four different governments, happened on April 16 and 17. Eight officials from the US National Science Foundation (NSF), Canada’s Natural Science and Engineering Research … Continue reading →

Posted in Banff International Research Station | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

UBC appoints a doer as its 13th President

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Ghoussoub

Once again, UBC has steered clear of appointing a career university administrator for its top position. Unlike UofT and UVic, who opted for the ultimate insiders, and McGill, who went for a consummate bureaucrat, UBC has chosen to appoint a … Continue reading →

Posted in Banff International Research Station, Board of Governors, Honouring friends, Op-eds | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Artists, Philanthropists, Politicians join mathematicians in celebrating BIRS-affiliate research facility in Oaxaca

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Ghoussoub

Today, I am in Oaxaca, Mexico, partying (literally) with the Director General of the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACyT), Dr. Enrique Cabrero Mendoza, the Governor of the State of Oaxaca, Gabino Cué Monteagudo, Billionaire Philanthropist Harp Helú, several senior representatives of … Continue reading →

Posted in Banff International Research Station | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tell me about El CASA

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Ghoussoub

Once again, I had to perform the unpleasant annual task of writing to more than 120 colleagues and their co-applicants all over the world to inform them that their proposals to run a research workshop at the Banff International Research … Continue reading →

Posted in Banff International Research Station | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Why do I have the best job in the world

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Ghoussoub

Just imagine if you receive a Valentine’s card every day of every week of every one of the last 10 years. OK! not the loving and lusting kind, but the feel good and appreciative type. “Dear BIRS Director, The attached paper, `Byzantine … Continue reading →

Posted in Banff International Research Station, Op-eds | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Will BIRS bring CIFAR and the mathematical sciences together?

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Ghoussoub

My inbox started filling up at an unusual speed. The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) had just announced a partnership with The Banff Centre (TBC). “The two institutions are teaming up to create a physical home for CIFAR, with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Banff International Research Station, R&D Policy | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NSERC, Math, Stats, Innovation and all that jazz

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Ghoussoub

Last weekend, representatives of Canada’s mathematical and statistical sciences community presented NSERC’s President, Suzanne Fortier, with a “Long Range Plan.” Entitled Solutions for a Complex Age, the report – commissioned by NSERC – is the result of two years of consultations and deliberations under … Continue reading →

Posted in Banff International Research Station, R&D Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute the “Mathematics of Planet Earth Initiative”

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Ghoussoub

Marc Garneau, our astronaut MP, who saw from outer space how beautiful, fragile and precious our planet was, didn’t do it. Ted Hsu, our Physicist MP, who witnessed its launch last week-end in Montreal, didn’t talk about it. Kennedy Stewart, Official … Continue reading →

Posted in Banff International Research Station, Op-eds | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The business community to the rescue of the research community

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Ghoussoub

Tuesday’s UBC Board of Governors meeting was the best I’ve witnessed in my last four years on the Board. A worthwhile agenda loaded with potentially transformational items, a great display of sound “governing” by the Governors, a magnificent presentation by … Continue reading →

Posted in Board of Governors | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“To promote a deeper understanding of our world”, Canada may need a Jim Simons

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Ghoussoub

The news may come as a shock to the Dean of U. Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, Roger Martin, and all those who have been preaching to the Canadian government that “what makes a country prosperous is not investment in science and technology,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments